"Dedicated to my Grandmother who had an awesome daughter call my Mom"  Beyonce

• Nice one for my band.... 4 new Album releases.
• The silly hackers are at it again
• Did you hear the Special on Radio Oxford?
• Good series on Channel 4 this week.
• I can read this.  Can you?
• The Visual Laugh [here's a good laugh if you like WC's] 
•  Success Stories
• Charts
• Subscriber's Section  [ Direction for a Newbie? ]
• The Gags  [ Vi*gra?] 

(1)  Beyonce Featuring Slim Thug .... Check On It  ... Columbia 

(2)  James Blunt .... You're Beautiful ....  Custard   |  DIGITAL   |  Atlantic
 RIAA

(3)  Nelly Featuring Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp  ... Grillz   ...  Derrty/Fo' Reel  
 

UK

1)  Notorious Big/Diddy/Nelly ..... 'Nasty6 Girl'    

2)   Chris Brown ft Juelz Santana -  'Run It'

3)  Ordinary Boys -  'Boys Will Be Boys'

Download Chart  [now the most important chart in the UK] 

1)  Ordinary Boys....Boys Will Be Boys....(Warner Music)

2) Notorious BIG / P Diddy / Nelly....Na*sty Girl... (Warner Music) 

3) Hi-Tack ..... Say Say Say (Waiting 4 U) ... (Gut)

Hi T****

I suggest you should consider asking yourself some straight questions first - as the answers will determine the road you should go:

1) Am I in this for 'fun' and just to impress my friends and peers?

2) Am I serious and want a career in music that will eventually give me the $fortunes and the success I crave?

If you answer 'yes' to the first question then what you are doing is quite acceptable.  Learn little by little by asking questions of anyone you know who can help you [including Newsgroups].

You will have to accept that you will be, for the most part, disappointed in the results as you can only achieve the level of the guys who you are listening to.... "no one ever stumbled on the method for making a Hit Record by accident".

You will forever be frustrated because your finished product doesn't quite sound like 'Usher' or 'Christina' ... and you will never find out why.

If the answer to (2) is 'yes' then you have to stop in your tracks and approach the whole idea with a professional, killer attitude, 'get out of my way' mindset.

You will have to think 'Industry Standard' in every respect as regards your equipment ... that means Mac and Protools or Logic/Sonar.  Simply because that is what every  dosh making, successful studio and music maker uses.  It means Triton, Yamaha Motif, Kurtsweil PC2R keyboards/modules.  It means Fender, Gibson elec. guitars and any one of the accepted modern acoustic guitars.  It means Marshall Amp or preferably Marshal JMP1 module [ancient but still the Pro's favourite]

It means Soundcraft, Yamaha or Allen and Heath mixing desk, Yamaha NS10S monitors with the most powerful amp you can afford and a totally dead studio environment.  It means as many compressors and Industry standard FX units as you can afford.

You will have to  accept that this is a 'knowledge based' industry and you simply cannot pick up that knowledge from Charlie down the pub [who knows a thing or two]

Sadly, and I apologise if I upset frail Egos....you will not pick up the extreme commercial knowledge required from Newsgroups.  Tips maybe...but not the Hit Making,  dosh making, $Million career knowledge.

You will have to accept that the music industry is 80% visual and 20% music.  This is a hard pill to swallow...and where do you get the info as regards this?

As regards your posed questions

<<<<<<a) invest more time into becoming more skilled with the tools & recording theory >>>>

Yes, but you must learn 'what the public want'...and you will not find anything on the Net that will help you in that respect [I shy away from plugging our own products]

There is only one theory you need as regards recording and that is the all encompassing complete and full theoretical knowledge of all recording and performing skills plus the knowledge of how Hit records are arrived at [Again I shy away from plugging our own products but 'How to Make A $Million From your Music' is hard to beat.]

<<<<<<<b) pay a studio to help me record my work >>>>>>

Sadly Tobes, this will only give a more polished version of exactly what you already have.  There are extremely few house engineers who have any interest in chart music [the stuff that sells] ... "Ahhhh, mate it's all sh*te in the chart nowadays".

Never go near a studio without the best Hit Producer that you can afford.  If you have the material they will usually work for points only, plus small out of pocket expenses.

<<<<<<<c) buy better tools that make it easier for me to get results >>>>>

No, not 'better tools' but Industry standard tools that will have good resale value and will give you [with the right knowledge] the proper mega dosh making results.

By the way, there are no tools that make it easier...it is the knowledge that makes it easier.

Dec {Cluskey] mailto:dec@makehits.com

Just released:- "57 Secrets of a Hit Record" ...  - 260 pages of the Secrets plus the CDrom Analysis Software and Audio CD to ensure that your music is a Potential Hit  www.makehits.com/57Secrets.htm or call UK 01323.728005 [+44.1323.728005]